As the Arab spring enters its second year, the popular uprising against the Syrian government continues. Scores are being killed by government forces, but international condemnation has not been enough to stop the violence. Foreign correspondent Reese Erlich is one of the few foreign reporters who got into Syria to interview opposition demonstrators, Kurdish refugees, government officials and impassioned supporters of President Bashar al Assad. On this edition, An Inside look at the Syrian Uprising, produced by Reese Erlich.
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting provided a grant to Reese Erlich for his reporting from Syria. Special thanks to Azad Diwani and Nabaz Shwani for translation and arranging interviews.
Featuring:
Leen, Ahmad, Taim, Mahmood, Syrian activists; Bouthaina Shaban, Syrian Presidential advisor; J. Toumajian, translator; Feras Dieb, Alawite businessman; Mohammad al Habash, Syrian Parliament member; Rana Issa, marketing and advertising business owner; Barkhodan Balo, Kurdish refugee; clothing store owner in Damascus souk.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
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We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
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With love, rage, and solidarity,
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